Series Placement: The following shard takes place before Fragments of Chaldea's Prologue, between Fuyuki and France Singularities.
Slowly, the bright light in the Summoning Chamber faded, but the servant within was already on guard. Her first wary sign was her memories. Even before her eyes adjusted to the dimmer, unusual room, she felt the countless memories and emotions of a past summoning. She felt the emotions… frustrations of a controlling egotist, and a past love that followed thereafter. There were even impossibly fragmented memories of a young girl with straw-blonde hair, working with her and three other servants, but she paid that less heed.
Right now, the robed caster in hues of twilight, had been summoned again.
Beneath her cowl, Medea's eyes narrowed as she sensed the room. There were two mages within, albeit weak ones. A few other normal people too. What was most alarming was she could sense another servant in close proximity, but she didn't feel any hint of hostility that made her hair stand on end. However, her instincts flared. She had accepted the summoning to save the human order, but the lack of provided knowledge urged her jaded, calculating mind begin to churn.
Quietly, she gazed towards the approaching, black-haired man in an unusual uniform. He looked a bit stiff, though his eyes weren't condemning her by any means. If anything, he looked a bit concerned and uncertain. She nearly huffed; Of course this clearly weak magus would judge her right off the- "Hello. Thank you for coming! We need all the help we can get and… Is it alright if I ask your name? Or you could share your class if you're more comfortable with that."
Medea fell dumbfounded. 'He doesn't know who I am? What kind of situation is this…?'
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Shard 9: Uncertain Beginnings
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"We'll be coming up to the cafeteria soon. You're more than welcome to stay and eat with us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I know servants don't need to eat but… I suppose every bit of energy helps?"
She cocked her head at the modern magus. "Even here, you still don't feel it? The overwhelming amount of energy in the air?"
"Um… Sorry, but I don't," he apologized and scratched the back of his head. "Is this place really special?"
Medea blinked, but didn't answer. It felt like the Age of Gods again. Whatever this place was, it was exceedingly mythical to have survived for this long into human history. Perhaps a spot that straddled the line between their world and the Reverse Side like a texture… Maybe a hidden site long since unnoticed? She doubted that… especially with the even stranger questions that rose with ever turn down a new hallway.
The sights in this bright facility were unusual. Robots instead of homunculi. Regular people intermingled with scientists and mages. Servants assisting with repairs to damaged corridors and rooms. Bright hallways that did terribly much to remind her of that disturbing laboratory from a former master…
Certainly, this place and the occasional servant put her on edge. It didn't help she recognized some of them, and they did her too. Her guard and calculating mind were on overtime. Manipulation and her art of saving herself became far more difficult. But her impulses were tempered with mild curiosity.
The look on the staff's faces was one of hidden devastation and hesitation. They'd recently lived through a chaotic event, so she'd been told, and it certainly showed. Some were even visibly nervous wrecks that contrasted the stoic and hard-working robotic workforce. She doubted any of them even had the time of day to judge or scheme against her; Some struggled just to keep themselves together.
And yet… despite the lingering tension and uncertainty, she could see this place was different. Most staff, when greeted, still seemed rather respectful but wary. A few servants, like Benkei or Da Vinci, were even genuinely courteous. Only those she recognized stared at her with quiet scrutiny; That young, cute shielder had been kind, if a bit meek and a stutterer.
It made her wonder if she'd reveal her true name one day, even if some knew but said nothing.
As they turned onto the windowed hallway, she looked around again at curious sights while following Gudao, who'd remained fairly silent after the first failed attempts to rouse small talk. She glanced to the inexperienced master again, who remained quite a bit nervous. She still doubted he was this very charismatic man Gabrielle had insisted in the Summoning Chamber, but she'd been surprised from time to time. That didn't mean she still wasn't going to doubt, nor drop her plans of disposing him should he turn against her in some way.
But in truth, as he turned to smile sheepishly at her, she allowed the tiny slither of hope to tell her this young man might be more like Souichirou than Atrum. So far, it actually seemed that way. "…Uh, sorry, Caster. I'm probably taking more time than I should, but I'm still getting used to giving a tour. My employer failed to note it in the job description."
Gudao's tiny attempt at humor made her lips tilt into a tiny, tiny smile. "It's fine. I wasn't expecting any sort of tour to begin with."
"We wouldn't be very good hosts if we didn't. Chaldea's sort of your new home, if you'd call it that."
'I don't think I ever will.' She didn't even respond properly again, but stared stoically. He winced, and unnerved a passing employee. Only the closest robot was unperturbed.
Her jaded mind knew it well. She traveled far too long… seen far too much. She'd experienced betrayal and manipulation, and committed such in turn. She was an anti-hero who shouldn't find any sort of comfort among real heroes and legends. At most, she was another tool for Chaldea to use to win back humanity's future. She'd be fine with that, and so long as they don't cross her, she would at least cooperate.
Again, that didn't mean her failsafe plans would be discarded so easily.
There was plenty of time to think anyway. This was going to be a long stay from what she was told. Yet, it was still only a week after they began summoning in earnest. She wasn't sure how long the stay would last, or if they'd manage to maintain any semblance of balance with Chaldea's growing servant count. She doubted it. The day would come when discord would reign supreme, and she'd be ready. Medea would probably stay and help, but keep her cynical distance for when everything inevitably fell apart with time.
'By the uncertain tension within the facility, it would be sooner rather than later…' she surmised, and kept her unnerving silence tight like a warm blanket.
Nevertheless, part of her wondered if this summoning might turn out different. Her last one had delivered her, quite literally, into the arms of a stoic former assassin who cared for her. It showed her a glimpse of happiness that she could hold, even if it never panned out; The small, warm fire was still cherished and nurtured in her heart's frigid tundra. Yet, maybe here too, she'd find someone, or some, who'd give that fire just a bit more fuel to remind her of what could be. If not her master, then maybe someone else might.
Medea quickly dismissed that as the most impossible thought of what could happen in this shaken and crumbling facility.